On Trans Day Of Visibility, held on March 31, Queer activists and allies gathered at Pride Square in Newtown and marched down to Sydney Park. The rally, hosted by Pride in Protest, began with an Acknowledgement of Country and opening speech from SRC Queer Officer and USyd Queer Action Collective (QuAC) co-convenor Tim Duff.
The rally centred the fight for trans liberation, emphasising that trans visibility requires political action. Many of the rally’s demands came back to passing the NSW Equality Bill, which, if passed in full, would abolish policies that require invasive surgery to change gender markers, create better protection for sex workers under the Anti-Discrimination Act (ADA), and prevent religious institutions from firing Queer staff. Other rally demands included fee-free gender-affirming care, justice for Veronica Baxter, and defunding, disarming, and dismantling the police.
Australian Services Union and Pride in Protest member Riley Brooke spoke on the need for gender affirmation leave under the Equality Bill and demanded the dismantling of police powers and resources. They emphasised the importance of power from below and collective bargaining to win union demands for transgender workers, including six-week annual gender affirmation leave. Brooke also described their experience being threatened at home by NSW Police after being charged under NSW’s draconian anti-protest laws, stating that “[governments] love giving police … extra power to commit violence against people who embarrass them”.
Greens Member for Newtown Jenny Leong denounced Labor’s repeated delay of the Equality Bill, saying that “[Labor MPs] are hypocrites in [their] willingness to sell out trans young people”.
Leong noted Labor’s repeated concessions to religious lobby groups and far-right politicians, including the recent bans on drag storytime passed at two NSW local councils.
Ms Andrie from the Sex Workers Outreach Project (SWOP) stressed the importance of protections and justice for sex workers under the Anti-Discrimination Act (ADA). She recounted how sex workers face housing and financial discrimination, being evicted, having their bank accounts frozen, and having their homes raided and finances audited by police. Ms Andrie emphasised the intersection between trans and sex worker rights, as many trans people turn to sex work when they are denied employment or facing homelessness.
Duff emphasised the solidarity between Queer, First Nations, and Palestinian resistances and noted that the Israeli Defense Forces and NSW Police are both occupational forces that uphold colonialism on stolen land. Protestors condemned the genocide against Palestine by chanting “Queers, Queers, Queers for Gaza, globalise the Intifada”.
Following speeches, activists marched down King St bearing pride flags, Palestinian flags, protest banners and placards. Chants reverberated through Newtown, including “No hesitation, no delay, sex work on the ADA” and “racist, sexist, anti-queer, Chris Minns is not welcome here!”
